Tips to Elevate Your AADOM Conference Experience
The AADOM Conference provides us with a life-changing experience! This event affords us opportunities for personal and professional education, networking with our peers, and introductions to vendors in marketing, technology, and related services.
Follow these tips for a successful conference experience!
Pack Your Essentials
First, comfortable shoes are essential! Be prepared to walk from your hotel room to the general meeting area, classrooms, and throughout the hotel.
Business casual for the conference is an acceptable dress code and exhibits a professional yet relaxed appearance. Select pieces of apparel to mix and match, especially if you are limited in luggage space. Be sure to have a sweater or a blazer, as the conference rooms and other areas of the hotel can be cold.
Optional clothing items would be bathing suits, casual attire, etc. Some sites provide packing lists/suggestions for your necessities (toiletries, charging cords, etc.).
Prepare for the conference by taking the proper tools:
- a tote bag
- business cards
- notebooks
- favorite pens
- sticky notes
- sticky tabs, etc.
I use smaller notebooks and keep them organized by day. (Sticky note tabs also help with your organization and are great for separating notes in my notebooks.)
Business cards are helpful to hand out to vendors/sponsors and have available when you meet someone at mealtime, in a classroom, or at the DPLN booth.
Develop Your Plan
- What are your goals for the conference?
- Do you have specific intentions regarding your courses?
- Are there any vendors that you are hoping to meet?
- Is your office interested in upgrading or enhancing its office technology?
- Are you interested in furthering your education through the AADOM distinctions program?
- Would you like to meet other dental professionals from your region/specialty?
Create a plan before the conference of your objectives and what you would like to accomplish at the event. Join the 2024 AADOM Conference Facebook page for tips and ideas and to meet other conference attendees.
If you are not a member, find your local DPLN and make connections before the conference. This information is available on the AADOM website.
Build Your Network
Allow time to network with members of the American Association of Dental Office Management leadership team, members of your local Dental Professional Learning Networks (DPLN), and other conference attendees. Also, take the time allotted to meet with sales and technology representatives during vendor time.
You can build your network of other conference attendees, business professionals, vendors, and personal contacts. This network will provide you with resources for future collaboration, learning opportunities, and connections for your office.
Combat Loneliness
It can be lonely if you are an introvert attending the conference or attending it yourself. There will be numerous opportunities to meet someone who may become a remarkably close friend or acquaintance!
Allow yourself to be open to these opportunities and try to put yourself out there to engage with others in your classes, during breakfast and lunch (sometimes we are seated by region and other times by specialty), traversing the hallways during vendor time, etc.
Visit the DPLN booth to find your local (or closest) chapter and reach out to the contact of that chapter. As a local DPLN chapter president, I think I can say that we want to meet you and help make your conference experience a positive one!
Utilize the conference app and the 2024 AADOM Conference Facebook page to find dinner companions or others with similar interests for activities at the end of each day. (If this is your first conference, please take advantage of the First Conference Attendee Welcome session and meet someone who may also be there alone.)
Post-Conference Agenda
Whether it is you or your doctor investing in your attendance at the conference, it is essential to gain the most out of your time spent in classes and networking opportunities. Schedule a time (after you return) to meet with your doctor/team about your conference experiences.
In the past, AADOM has provided us with a post-conference Action Plan. As I take notes, I look for ideas and suggestions relevant to our office situation. Compare it to what positive changes can be implemented in your office.
Utilize your Action Plan to reassess and reformulate—what may benefit one office may not work in another. Analyze your plan to see how it may impact your office, doctors, and team. What stands out as most impactful? What will benefit my office/doctor/team?
I have had several courses where a speaker delivers a “wow” moment. Utilize your post-conference enthusiasm and positive energy to promote positive change in your personal and professional lives.
Your agenda at the conference will be filled with collaboration, networking, and learning opportunities. Now is the time to begin planning so you have a dynamic, fulfilling, and productive conference experience. This is a positive life-changing event and will provide lifelong benefits!
See you in Vegas!
About the Author
Sheri McVaugh, FAADOM
Sheri McVaugh, FAADOM, graduated from Goldey Beacom College and has been involved in dental for several years.
She is the founder and chapter president of Susquehanna Valley Dental Connection, as well as a member of the board of directors of Aevidum (empowers youth to shatter the silence surrounding depression, suicide, and other mental health issues).
She is on track to achieve her MAADOM in 2024. Spending time with family is her greatest joy.
